On February 18th, 2011, our lives were changed forever when our son Christian Taylor Buchanan entered the world. He was born with a bilateral cleft palate and lip and almost completely blind. This blog is the story of his life, the joys we share, the challenges we encounter, and the amazing and trying journey ahead of our family!

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Christian Taylor Buchanan

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Just The Way You Are - Special Education - IDEA

Our
kids have to go to school, and as parents we want them to do well, learn all
that they can, and have some fun while they’re at it. When dealing with kids
who have a disability, a normal classroom setting may not be appropriate,
however. This doesn’t mean, though, that they do not deserve an equal education.
Tennessee follows the federal guidelines of a law known as IDEA, or Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, which provides funding to states who follow
its guidelines in educating children who have a disability. Its purpose is to
ensure that everyone gets a “free appropriate public education.”

The
idea of IDEA (pun intended) is that each special child has a written plan in
place that is specific to their needs and detailed to ensure that they get the
best possible education. A student with a mental impairment will need something
very from a student with an auditory impairment, so this law lays out a path
for schools, teachers, and parents to follow to ensure that each student gets
what they need.

To
qualify under IDEA, a person must be between the ages of 3 and 21. (Remember,
T.E.I.S. will help with your child’s education until the age of 3.) They must
also fall within one of these categories: autism, deaf/blind, deafness, hearing
impaired, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment,
serious emotional disturbance, specific learning disabilities, speech or
language impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment including blindness,
and other health impairment. Basically, they must have a disability that “. .
.adversely affects their educational performance and need special education in
order to receive an appropriate education.”

If
someone isn’t sure whether or not their child has a disability or falls within
one of these categories, IDEA allows children to receive a free evaluation. Students
who are covered under IDEA are entitled to a meeting to create an
individualized Education Program or IEP. There are several members of a team
who come together to create an IEP including the child’s parents, a
representative of the school, the child’s teacher(s), and some sort of
educational evaluator who can explain results of the evaluation. These are all
required members, however, they are not exclusive. Parents can request that the
child’s therapists, counselors, or psychologist be present, or an educational
advocate, social worker, or lawyer.

With
all these people working in concert, the IEP is created. It creates measureable
goals on how to help students get to where they need to be. It takes into
account their strengths and weaknesses, their needs, and where they are
performance-wise. In creating the IEP, the team determines what the “least
restrictive environment” for that child is. The term “least restrictive
environment” is used a lot in disability law related topics, but it is a simple
concept. In the area of schools, it describes the most appropriate environment
in which a student with a disability can participate. The ideal least
restrictive environment is in a general education class room with non-disabled
peers for the entire school day. However, this would not be appropriate for all
students who are disabled. The range of least restrictive environment varies
for every individual and can be as restrictive as away from the school, in-home
services, but many times we see it in the form of a separate classroom
consisting of only special education students. This concept is not an “all or
nothing” approach, though. Students are not restricted to either general
education or special education classrooms. Whatever mix might be appropriate is
what will be implemented.

This is
a very brief overview of the topic, but I hope it has encouraged you to learn
more. There is a wealth of information out there to be found. You can go to any
of the local schools here in Cannon County and ask for information on IDEA or
Special Education services. I did so at Woodbury Grammar a few months ago and
they graciously printed me out a large booklet on the topic! There are also
several websites that you can visit, www.idea.ed.gov,
www.tn.gov/education/speced,
and www.wrightslaw.com/idea to
name a few. Just Googling the topic will give you more information than you can
sort through in one day.

I am
also thrilled to tell you about an exciting way to learn even more about
Special Education. Tennessee Voices for Children, a state wide advocacy program
for children, is offering an informational class on the topic in Woodbury next
month! The class is on January 8th at 8:00am in the Lions Club
Building on Park Circle (next to the baseball fieldsand should last for about
one and a half hours. For more information on this class, please email me at laceybuchanan@gmail.com and I will be
glad to help! I hope to see you all there!

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About Me

I am a Christian, mother, wife, daughter, aunt, sister, and friend to some amazing people. I am a student at Nashville School of Law. I work at a daycare. I am passionate about disability advocacy and education.